3x3 - Nanjing all set for 3x3 success at 2014 Youth Olympic Games

18 Aug 2014

3x3 is the only basketball disciplined featured in the second Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. The action starts today Monday 18 August for the future stars of 3x3.

Following an amazing opening ceremony that saw two 3x3 players, Andorra’s Laura Navarro and China’s Dilixiati Dilana, bearing the flag of their countries on Saturday, the pool stage of the 3x3 event starts today.

40 teams from 30 countries feature 160 athletes born between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 1997. The 20 men's teams and 20 women's teams were both divided into two pools of 10. 

Each team will play between 1 and 2 games per day from 18 to 24 August, with the only exception being Thursday 21 August where the first 3x3 medals will be awarded during the two individual competitions, the Women’s Shoot-out Contest and the Men’s Dunk Contest.

The best eight teams from each pool will advance to the knock-out stage on 25 August, which starts with the Last 16 and concludes on 26 August with the Women’s Final at 20:30 local time (12:30GMT/14:30CET) and the Men’s Final at 21:00 local time (13:00GMT/15:00CET).

The games can be followed on TV with the extensive list of international broadcasters available on www.olympic.tv.

Live and on-demand coverage of the action can also be watched through the IOC’s global digital platforms: www.olympic.tv, www.olympic.org and www.youtube.com/olympics. For anyone in China, tune in to http://sports.cntv.cn/special/nanjing2014/index.shtml, which will be broadcasting the competition extensively.

Last but not least, you can follow the games with the Olympic TV app on your mobile device.

The Women’s tournament is stocked with talent, with the top six U18 women in the 3x3 Individual World Ranking competing in Nanjing, starting with the current number one, Estonia’s Kadri-Ann Lass. 

The US team will feature two of the four players (Arike Ogunbowale and Katie-Lou Samuelson) who struck gold at the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia on 26-29 September 2013.

They will still have to solve a 1.92m-tall problem named Dilixiati Dilana, who will star for the Chinese team, the winners of the 3x3 event at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, playing at home in front of their numerous fans.

The men’s tournament will bring together some of the best athletes to have ever played 3x3, including the number one U18 player in the 3x3 Individual World Ranking, Justas Vazalis from Lithuania.

Argentina will look to keep its hegemony on 3x3 youth basketball following their success at the 2013 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Championships with a new-look team spearheaded by the dynamic Jose Vildoza.

The 18 year-old will headline a list of players who have already shined in youth 5on5 basketball such as Russia’s Vladislav Staratelev and New Zealand’s Izayah Le’afa.

Follow the action on FIBA.com, including a daily recap after the games and more features.

FIBA